Your Giving Tree
by CaliTues
Summary: With his first year of college coming to a close, his rent due, and his job paying him less than minimum wage; Roxas has bigger issues than to babysit the young blonde girl that keeps worming her way into his life. But at this point how can he resist? (RoxasxNamine (eventually maybe), T for language, sexual themes, slight age difference? and violence. AU Genres TBD.
1. Clock Tower

**Hey guys, surprise, surprise, guess who's back again? As you can see (if you're an old reader at least) I've gone through another name change, but hopefully as all I do is use this for fanfiction it'll stay that way for a while and I won't go off confusing anyone.**

**Anyway, this IS eventually (maybe) a RoxasxNaminé fanfiction. However there are going to be many an issue. I plan on this being pretty long. And I'm hoping since it's kind of based on real events that I'll be more motivated to write it. It's kind of like therapy in a way. Beautiful fictional therapy. I know my writing style has changed a HELL of a lot, so let me know if I can work on something to make it more enjoyable to read. Because as I read over this I feel like I'm reading a teenager's attempts at Charles Dickens here. So I tried to balance it out. Uhm. I'm pretty sure I kept this safe enough for at T rating, but if you guys think otherwise, let me know on that too. But anyway I'll jabber at the end more. Enjoy!**

Roxas let out a long sigh as he leaned back in the booth, running a hand over his face in a useless attempt at trying to wipe away his fatigue. After an eight hour shift of running back and forth all day, he was ready to collapse. The fact that it had been one of their busiest Fridays in a month didn't help out either. Leaning forward, he looked at the small stack of money that he had counted out in front of him with slight irritation. To have so many people come through today he sure as hell didn't have enough tips to show for it.

"Welp, I don't know about you, buddy, but I'm about ready to fuckin' torch this place." His head snapped up to see Axel standing over him, a sneer on his face as he slid into the booth opposite of him. Axel eyed the stack of money for a moment before snatching it up and flipping through the bills, counting mentally before scoffing and slamming the cash back down on Roxas's end of the table. "This is bullshit, man. How are we expected to make a living off of this?"

Shrugging, Roxas slowly grabbed the money off the table and pocketed it before his friend got grabby again. Axel continued to rant off about how shitty the café was while Roxas looked around. It was nearly midnight and they had just finished their tasks for closing for the night, and every damn employee was still here waiting for the manager to allow them to leave. Sure they were still on the clock, but at three fifty an hour what was the damn point?

As much as he complained over it, Axel needed the job, and as much as Roxas hated it, he needed it too. He wasn't one to bitch about an opportunity, even if it was a shitty one. He just wished a better one would get tossed his way. He slowly let his eyes drift back to his friend, wincing as he slammed his fist down on the table to exaggerate a point.

Axel was a good few years older than he was, and it was odd that the two got along as well as they did. Roxas had been big into baseball in school; Axel had been big into getting high off his ass. Even now they only had a few things in common, none the less, he was his best friend and relied on him. There was however a few things about Axel that Roxas tried to stay clear of.

"Hey, man, are you listenin'?" Axel snapped, waving a hand in front of Roxas's face causing him to snap into attention. "Wanna go out for a drink after this?"

Roxas blinked a few times before shaking his head and leaning back, "I think I'm just going to go home and sleep. I have to come in early tomorrow morning."

"Ah, man, Rox, didn't know you were opening," Axel nodded rubbing his chin slightly before snapping his fingers, "We'll go out tomorrow night then, deal?"

Smirking, he shrugged and gave his friend a mock thumbs-up. "Sure thing."

"Alright, everyone may clock out now," A voice called from the back of the kitchen. Roxas and Axel couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Fuckin' hate that guy."

"Let's just go," the two slid out of the booth and made their way back to the panels in the kitchen.

* * *

Roxas cursed as he slammed his shoulder into his door, the lock once again jammed. He moved away before trying his key again, this time opening the door of his small apartment. Yawning, he shuffled past the pile of jackets and pair of shoes at the door, dumping his keys on the small table at the door. He thought about picking them up, hell they had been there since February, but really they were where he needed them.

Shrugging he shuffled past the small rustic kitchen/living room into the single bedroom, quickly pulling off his tie and tossing it to the floor. He then shed his slacks and shirt, dropping them in a heap with the tie. Fighting off another yawn, he walked over to the small desk in the corner of the bedroom and picked up his phone from the desk he had left charging earlier that day, flipping it open.

**1 New Voicemail**

**8 Missed Calls**

He rolled his eyes as he saw the numbers the calls were from, snapping the phone shut and tossing it to the bed before grabbing a pair of shorts off the floor and pulling them on. He wasn't in the mood to listen to any of them right now.

He shuffled around a few bills, contemplating opening them before just turning and walking into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When he finally made his way under his sheets, it was nearly one in the morning. Laying on his back for a few moments, he finally grabbed his phone and flipped it open, quickly hitting the number for voicemail before holding it up to his ear.

"_Hey Roxas, Mom said she tried to call you today? I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I don't blame you for ignoring the call, but, we're worried about you at least. I don't know why she's calling you though. Just, call me soon so I know you're alright, okay? Love you," _the machine let out a tone and began listing out options when Roxas hastily snapped the phone shut and rolled over onto his side, shutting his eyes.

He'd call her back tomorrow.

* * *

"So you wanted the quesadilla with … no cheese?" Roxas asked slowly, his pen pressed against the pad of paper he used to take orders on causing the ink from his good pen to smear into the paper.

"Isn't that what I said?" The lady remarked with a snap, her brow rising in question.

Roxas narrowed his eyes in spite, wanting to snap back at her before biting his tongue. "Just making sure I heard you right, ma'am." He then turned to the woman's (what he assumed) husband, "And for you?" A burger-less burger perhaps?

He finished taking the family's order before walking to one of the computers near the back of the restaurant and putting in the order. Once he had sent it to the back, his eyes darted to the lower right of the screen and he had to stop himself from leaping out of his pants. It was nearly time for his shift to be over.

Smirking, he quickly went around and checked on his other two tables before making his way up to the hostess stand and tapping the blonde girl on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm cut." She jumped slightly causing him to snicker before he reached around her and wiped his name from the glass that was placed over the seating chart. "Thanks Terra. No more tables for me," He sang as he spun around headed to the back to start filling up the sauces so he could split when the clock hit three.

He minded his own until his food came up, quickly dropping it off at the table and arguing with the lady about how her cheese-less quesadilla had no flavor. He ended up putting in an order of (go figure) cheese sticks for her after clearing off his one other table. He was leaning against the boards, rolling silverware when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Roxas, do you mind working smoking tonight, Tifa just called out with a stomach bug and I'll have to put Yuffie at the bar and God knows that girl can't cover a damn section_ and_ the bar," Roxas opened his mouth to protest, turning to look at the manager with a gaping mouth, "Look I know you've been here all day, but I really need someone here tonight, and no one else is answering their phones. I've already asked Demyx and Selphie, they both already have plans."

"I don't know, Shiki… Joshua kept us all here really late last n-"

"Ugh, again? Is he not making people clean as they go? For God's sake he's freaking inept, I don't know why Neku even promoted him in the first place, you'd think they were sleeping to-"

"If you need me to stay , I will. Just let me out of here before midnight," He cut her off before she went off on a rant. Everyone who worked here knew there was tension between the three managers. But Roxas never paid enough attention to the rumors he heard floating around, he didn't want to.

"Oh, of course! Thank you so much Roxas, I thought I was going to be short on a Saturday night." She quickly pushed her glasses up and hugged him, before darting back to the office to create the chart for the night.

"Can I at least go on break?" He called over to her, she waved him off giving him a thumbs up, keeping her nose in the book that the schedule was kept in.

Sighing, he went back to check on his table, seeing they had finished and left him some pocket change to count as his tip. Sometimes he wondered if he was really that bad at his job or if people were just assholes. He cleaned it off, taking the dishes to the back and putting them on the metal sink that Ed used to stack the dishes before he ran them through.

Once he was finished, he clocked out and tossed a glance down at his watch. It wouldn't get busy again until five and so he had some time to kill, or in his case grab some food and nap. He headed towards the front of the restaurant, walking past Terra and slamming a hand down on her hostess stand to make her look up.

"Back in a few, when you leave?"

"Uhm." She cast her eyes to the side, glancing at a clock she kept beside the stand, "Should be going home soon."

He scoffed, shaking his head and waving, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"S-sure, Roxas."

He chuckled before turning around and walking out towards his car. He unlocked the passenger side door, opening and ducking in to grab some cash he had stashed in the glove box before locking and shutting it again. He exited the parking lot, hopping up on the curb as he walked down the street towards the sandwich shop. As much as he liked eating the food from the Clock Tower, they were too damn expensive for his wallet, even with his employee discount.

Roxas spent an hour chatting up the employees of the shop and eating his lunch before making his way back down the street. He walked into to see that the dinner hostess had yet to arrive, so he took the time to peek over and see if the chart had been replaced yet. He knew he'd be on the smoking side, but he didn't want the- "Goddammit," He muttered. He had the two large back booths, along with two others.

Sighing, he shuffled to the back of the restaurant, hoping tonight wouldn't be nearly as shitty as he felt it would be.

**So a really generic intro chapter for Roxas c: No worries, Naminé will make her appearance soon enough, (somewhat in the next chapter) . But I'm going to really try to develop Roxas as a character throughout this, but it's kind of hard to do as to move the story along I need Naminé. SO WE'LL JUST SEE HOW IT GOES. I tried to balance out the serious with the humor, and I'm not too sure of how well I did that. Keeping my writing in check is hard; I think I switched tenses so many times. But hopefully I've read over it enough so it's clean.**

**I'm sure most of you have either read (Silverstein) or heard (Plain White T's) of the Giving Tree. And if you haven't, go give it a read or a listen, or even better both. It's a beautiful story, both in poem and song. c: I felt the title fit what I was going for, and hopefully will achieve in writing this. **

**Anyway, it's nice to be back writing again, I think I kind of missed it. And all of you guys of course. c: I hope some of my old readers will check this out and see how much I've improved (or not improved). But anyway, I feel good about this. c: Please R&R. **


	2. It's a Rough Night

**Hey guys, here's chapter two c: I'll babble at the end so you have a choice of reading or not.**

"I don't know how much more of this I can do," Roxas mumbled under his breath as he returned from one of his parties, clenching the edge of the counter as he angrily keyed in their order. He knew they were fucking with him, being a bunch of teenagers; he was pretty sure two of them were drunk off their asses.

Axel walked by, shooting the blonde a look of sympathy as he carried out one of Roxas's orders to their table. He mumbled a thanks in the red heads direction before raising a hand to his head to rub at his temples, trying to ward off the headache he was getting. He hadn't clocked back in until six, but he'd be here till at least eleven if he was lucky. Shiki was usually good at getting people out of here though.

"Roxas, table 223 needs more napkins and honey mustard," Axel said as he came back over to grab his own food from the window. Roxas pushed himself off the counter and hurried towards the sauces, spooning out a few cups and grabbing some napkins before walking back out into the restaurant's dining area.

"Here you go," he said with what he hoped was a convincing grin as he sat the sauce and napkins down on the edge of the table. The two older women thanked him politely and he just nodded. He made to walk away but the two were excessively chatty. Of course he would get the friendly folk on the night he couldn't mentally handle it.

He chuckled sheepishly as they dotted on him before a sharp whistle caused him to cringe, he turned his head to the corner to see one of the guys in the booth waving his hand in a vain attempt at getting Roxas's attention. Roxas excused himself from the two women and sauntered over to the table and lightly crossed his arms.

"Whatcha need friend?" He asked, trying to sound as lighthearted as possible.

The silver haired teen was in the corner, his draped around a young blonde girl. The others around the table all looked to be a lot older too. There had to at least be a five year age difference between the lot. "We're just wondering about desert," he said, "Sorry for snapping, but I'd been waving my hand around Like I just didn't care for ages."

Roxas smirked, waving it off, "No problem, sorry, got held up at one of my tables. Think tonight we've got cheesecake and chocolate fudge cake."

The older boy looked over at the girl under his arm, poking at her arm, "What you want Nam?"

Roxas finally let his attention rest on the girl, her platinum blonde hair was arranged to rest on one of her shoulders, her eyes lowered to the table in thought. She was so small, and looked so young in comparison to these guys. She looked up at the mention of her name, her eyes meeting Roxas's. "Cheesecake, please."

"Cheesecake it is, you want strawberries? Or chocolate?" Roxas asked, smiling as he knelt down and leaned against the table as he pulled out his pen to write it down. He'd be able to remember of course, he just wanted to be on eye level with her; he couldn't get her to hold his gaze for long when they were talking.

"Can we get both?" She asked softly, breaking the stare down. The silver haired teen snickered at her side, causing her to look up at him with a frown.

"Sure can." Roxas pushed himself back up to a standing position and turned to walk back to the kitchen.

The remainder of his night was, to put it nicely, a sliver of hell. Between the drunken people at the bar having chased out two parties of people with their loud laughing BEFORE the food was out left not only Roxas without tips and it pissed off Shiki. The teenagers had gotten their desert and kept to the table for the rest of the night, and when it finally hit eleven, Roxas wanted to kiss Axel square on the lips.

"You checked out all your tables man?" Axel asked, placing his last sales slip into a basket in the managers office as Roxas stood outside the door with his arms crossed.

"No, they haven't left yet." He nodded in the direction of the bar, and the smoking section sat on the other side Axel let out a low whistle, "They haven't paid?"

"Nah, should I go ask you think?"

"Yeah, man, just tell 'em we're about to close up." Roxas nodded and began walking around to the table, only to see that they were all gone.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," He leaned over the bar and slammed his hand on the counter a few times to get Yuffie's attention, "Yuffie! Did you just let those guys walk out!?"

Yuffie turned around with a few glasses in her arms, her eyes narrowing, "Don't you yell at me, mister, I've had my hands full all night! They'd been here for ages, I would of thought you 'd gotten it by now!"

Roxas groaned covering his face with his hands as he sunk into one of the booths next to the bar. He couldn't fuckin' believe they had walked out without paying. They had over one hundred dollars in food all together. How was he fucking going to explain this to Shiki?

"Are you okay?" He heard a soft voice above him, looking through his fingers to see the blonde girl from the table smiling down at him. "Little frustrated are we?"

He let his hands slowly fall from his face, blinking. Surely they hadn't…

She bit her lip when he didn't reply, instead reaching into her handbag and pulling out a VISA, "Be quick, Riku's not patient and they're my ride home," She winked before pushing into his open hand and walking back to the table where she sipped at her drink casually.

Roxas was dumbfounded. Not only had they all left her in here alone, they were making her pay for dinner. He stared down at the card in his hand, reading the name as he slowly made his way back to one of the computers. "Oh," he mumbled as he slid the card through the card reader. It was the Riku guy's card, not hers.

He printed off the receipt before taking it back to her to sign. She scribbled out the Riku fellow's name with ease and handed him the paper and pen, grabbing her copy before tossing him a small wave as she began walking away from the table. "Have a good night." She walked a few more paces before stopping and turning around to face him, "Don't let it get to you, okay?" With that, she bounced around and headed towards the exit.

He swallowed before fumbling out a good night as well, watching as she walked out, his eyes never leaving her form until she was outside and out of sight. And all he could think was how beautiful she looked walking away.

Roxas cleaned up the mess from his remaining tables as quickly as he could manage, and like Shiki had said, they were all out of there by eleven forty.

* * *

Roxas flipped open his phone as he pulled into the apartment complex parking lot. He climbed out of his car, rubbing his head as he saw he had another missed call. He'd have to do well and remember to call tomorrow.

He wasn't half way up the stairs to his apartment when he was hit with a small ball of fur, his knees nearly giving way, "Dammit, Dale." Thud, "And Chip too I see."

Both of them could only mean one thing, his elderly neighbor Mrs. Aqua was still awake. He bit his tongue and prepared for a migraine. Her loud and piercing laughter was enough to strike fear into his heart. "Those dogs are like two peas in a pod, aren't they there, Roxas."

He chuckled nervously, "Sure are," He was glad it was dark enough that she couldn't see him kicking the dogs at his feet away. "Why are you still up, Aqua?"

She laughed again, leaning down to pet at the two dogs as they fought for her attention, "I tell you these two dogs are spoiled."

"Yeah, sure are."

"But they love to play, they're like two peas in a pod."

"Yeah, why don't you go back inside?"

She smiled at him and looked around the hallway before putting her hand to her chin in thought, "Why are you coming home so late? Did you go out and scootypoot?"

Roxas slammed his palm against his forehead, wanting to die on the spot. "No, Aqua, I was at work."

"Oh where do you work again?"

"The Clock Tower."

"Doesn't it scare you to get up on that bi-"

"No Aqua, not the actual tower the restaurant."

"Oh.. " The two dogs pushed themselves further against her legs causing her to laugh again, "These dogs are like two peas in a pod."

"Aqua why don't you go to bed, I'm going to bed, Chip and Dale are going to bed, let's just all go to bed alright?" He finally snapped.

She made a slight huffing sound before sticking her nose up in the air and turning to walk down the corridor towards her apartment. She let the two dogs back in before slamming it shut. Roxas sighed, glad that tonight she wasn't much up for arguing. Aqua had dementia and was slowly becoming not only a hazard to herself but to him as well, but her damn kids never came to see her. Roxas had somewhat taken it upon himself to keep an eye on her, even though she near drove him insane.

He slowly made his way down to his apartment, quickly getting in and locking the door behind him just in case Aqua decided she wanted a late night visit. He didn't even bother with a shower, simply stripping himself of his clothes and flopping in the bed before taking out his phone. He was off tomorrow at least. And he was convinced he'd spend the _entire_ day sleeping in.

**Hi guys! c: Just a few (many) things I wanted to touch (babble) on in this chapter. So in case you haven't gathered, Roxas lives in a fairly pooey apartment working a fairly crappy job at Twilight Town's Clock Tower Restaurant and Pub. And I don't know how many of you have worked in the food business but let me just tell you IT SUCKS AND PEOPLE ARE BUTTS ALL THE TIME. **

**Also we introduced a few new and important characters in this second chapter, though they haven't played a big part at all. c: Riku and Naminé, hm. Can you feel the drama bubbling. Not to mention old lady Aqua c: She will be appearing quite often in the story both to lighten the mood and to worsen it at inappropriate times. Though don't worry, she won't walk in on Naminé and Roxas having a heart to heart. I hope I know how to time things better than that c: **

**So I know it's a little early to ask but what are you guys thoughts on the characterizations of Roxas and Naminé? I feel they're a bit stiff currently :s And I'm hoping I can fix that as I keep writing them. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading, leave a review if it tickles your fancy c: I'll try to update soon. **


	3. Boo

**Heey, c: thanks to everyone who's reviewed, faved and alerted stoof. Author's note at the bottom. Enjoy chapter three.~**

The buzzing was louder than any sound he could possibly imagine at the moment, and as he reached for the phone on the nightstand, he almost wished an explosion had been his wake up call instead. At least then he would have felt some genuine urgency in having to wake up. Finally getting a hold of the phone, he pulled in his arm, knocking his watch and wallet off the table with little care as he flipped it open and lazily put it to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"That's a rude way to answer the phone, Roxas," the voice on the line scolded him, causing him to roll his eyes and run his hand over his face in exasperation. "Still in bed?"

"Yeah," he replied shortly before yawning and draping his arm over his face as he attempted to gather his thoughts. "What did mom want?"

She scoffed, and he heard her click her tongue before replying, "I think she just wanted to know if you had Brother's fishing rod, but he found it. The dork had it hidden out behind the garage."

"Good deal," he muttered through another yawn, "So what did _you_ want?"

"Just checking on you. You hadn't called this week so I didn't know if something was wrong or –"

"I've been busy," He cut her off and rubbed at his temples before pulling the phone back from his ear to check the time. Groaning, he put it back into the nestled spot between his ear and shoulder, "School's been shitty. Work's been shitty."

"Oh Roxas…"

She sounded so disappointed, he thought. But it wasn't her place to, so he quickly amended his words. "But it's gotten better the past few days, got class tomorrow morning, and I don't have to go into work until five, plenty of time to get caught up."

"Why not today?"

"What about today?"

She giggled lightly, "Do your work, Roxas."

He smiled in spite of himself, yawning before slowly sitting up, "I will, I'll call you next week alright?" He was ready for this to be over, he loved his sister, but he didn't like her worrying over him.

"Alright, love you."

"You too Rikku," he snapped the phone shut, tossing it lightly to the end of the bed before looking around at the small room.

He sat there for a few moments, staring at his feet when the noises from his stomach caused him to clench his sides. It was only ten o'clock, and he briefly considered scooting down to the shops before they stopped selling breakfast. Yeah right, he thought, letting out a puff of air before swinging his feet to the floor. He looked around the dimly lit room before walking over to a pile of clothes, pulling out two mismatched socks and slowly sliding them onto his feet.

He rested his palms on his thighs as he sat down on the bed again, looking around. He knew he wasn't going to go out for breakfast; he was much too tired to even worry over food. But he didn't want to sit around and have to do school work either.

"What do I even have to do…" He muttered, flopping back on his back he twisted around to grab at his backpack he had slung against the wall on the other side of the bed. Pulling the heavy bag off the floor, he sat up crossing his legs underneath him as he dug through its contents to try and find his notebook. Finally finding the small book nestled between his world religion text book and some binder he never used, he flipped it open to where he had the latest page of scribbles.

He groaned as he looked at the small "list" he had made Friday before he left campus, there wasn't much in terms of quantity, but he had a 12 page research paper due in a matter of hours that he hadn't even started, not to mention about eighty pages to read for another class. So much for doing any of that, he quickly slid the books and the bag back to the floor where they had stayed during the weekend, rolling off the bed.

He stood in the middle of the room, his hip resting against his bed post, "Guess I'll go see Axel."

He snatched what he hoped was a clean pair of boxers from his dresser and sifted through the clothes on the floor for a pair of shorts before shuffling to the restroom to shower.

* * *

"Well, well, what a pleasant surprise, my good old friend Roxas, come from his roost to mingle with the other morning glories, what do I owe the pleasure of your presence at such an early hour, my grace?"

"You're lit already, aren't you?" Roxas placed a hand on the older man's chest, shoving him gently as he moved through the doorway. Axel let out a repressed giggle of sorts before shutting the door after him, following the blonde to the sofa where they sat down. "I need something to do."

Axel threw his hands in the air in a quick shrug like gesture before reaching towards the coffee table and grabbing a bag of chips. Reaching and grabbing a handful, he stuffed them in his mouth before offering the bag to Roxas. The blonde shook his head but reached in and grabbed a handful himself, instead choosing to eat them one at a time.

"I go'ha go inna bih," Axel said through a mouthful of chips, crunching loudly as he shook the bag up and tilted it to his mouth to just feed out of.

"One of those days where I actually wish I was working," Roxas muttered, though there wasn't much truth in that statement, he was bored sure, but he was glad to have a Sunday off. It was a rare occasion and he was actually glad of it.

Finally with his mouth clear of all the chips, Axel picked up the rolled up smoke that had been resting on an ashtray and let it rest between his lips as he looked at Roxas, "Why not go out then man? Heard Tifa's been hittin' it off with you lately, eh?" He elbowed the teen in the shoulder repeatedly as he waggled his eye brows.

Roxas shoved his elbow away before narrowing his eyes, "Where'd you hear something like that?" It was true he had been hanging out with the busty bartender as of late, but really he thought of her more as a friend than he did anything else. She liked to drink and she was easy to talk to.

"From the horse's mouth herself," Axel took a long drag before speaking again, "She was talkin' to uh'… Shit, what's her name? The newer girl," He waved his free hand around in wide circles, "K…Kuu…Kai…"

"Uh…" He had no idea what name the red head was looking for, instead he decided it best to switch tracks before Axel's brain train derailed in attempts of coming up with imaginary waitresses. "So you talked to Larxene, lately?"

Axel's hand slapped down, his eyes lighting up, "Yeah man, she's great, I think we're gonna get like, you know pretty serious soon. I think she's…"

Roxasa pretty much tuned out whatever Axel was going off on. He was head over heels for this chick and it was a bit annoying at times to have to listen to. Especially when Roxas found Larxene to be such a bitch, there wasn't a meeting the three had shared where she had picked at him for something pointless. But if Axel was happy, there was little Roxas would do to step in between it.

The two idly chatted until Axel had to get ready for work, and then Roxas went home to gather up some clothes to his the laundry mat. He decided he'd do at least something semi-productive today.

He reached his apartment to find Aqua walking around the balcony, not really on route to anywhere or for any purpose, other than that she was simply bored. After leading her back to her side of the building, he went inside and dug around his jean pockets for some quarters until he had enough for a few loads, and if he was lucky, a snack from the vending machine.

Making sure he grabbed his work clothes, he balled up a few more things to toss in a small plastic basket before heading down the street to the mat.

For a Sunday, the place was pretty empty; the only other person being an older woman who was doing what seemed to be piles upon piles of towels. Scratching at his face, he walked to the farthest one and began loading his clothes in before inserting the change. Once he had two loads going, he tossed the basket beside a chair, plopping down in it and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He realized he hadn't brought anything with him to pass the time, hell, he didn't even have his phone. Sighing, he leaned his head back and shut his eyes, figuring he could just try and relax for an hour or so.

* * *

He was vaguely aware of hands over his eyes, at least he assumed that's what it was that had woken him up. He blinked a few times, raising his head and wincing as he did so. That had _not_ been the ideal position for his neck.

"Boo," A soft voice spoke into his ear, causing him to arch a brow against their hand.

Not in the mood for whoever was breathing down his neck, he rose to his feet, making the hands fall from his eyes. He turned to see the blonde girl from the Tower last night with her hands behind her back, smiling.

"Nice seeing you again." She offered warmly when a few moments of silence had passed. The older lady that was in here before was long gone.

"Uh, yeah…" He ran a hand over his eyes before turning away from her to look at the two machines he had stuck his clothes in. He mindlessly opened one and felt to see if it was dry before pulling them all out and walking over to where he had tossed the basket. Righting it with his foot, he dropped the clothes before returning for the other load. The whole time she just stood rocking on her toes, her short skirt riding up her thighs every time she moved forward. "Do you need something?"

She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout before nodding her head towards his basket of laundry. "Aren't you going to fold it?"

He shook his head before picking up the basket and heading for the exit. He hadn't been able to tell in the light of the restaurant, but he could clearly see now that she was _young_. And no matter how pretty she was, nowadays, it was enough to put up red flags for him.

"Hey," She grabbed onto the back of his shirt, furrowing her brows in confusion as he tried to walk past her, "What's your issue?"

"I don't know you," He replied simply, shrugging out of her hold only for her to grab on again.

"Hey," she protested loudly, jerking him to a stop before moving in front of him and extending out her hand, "I'm Naminé."

He shook his head, letting her hand meet nothing but air. "Look, I've got a lot to do today, so, it was nice meeting you but, I need to get goin'." What the hell was even up with this girl?

"Fine, whatever then," She pulled her hand back to her chest, dropping her other arm and moving to the other side of the laundry mat where she sat in front of a unit, her legs crossed to mirror her arms. He wasn't great at understanding women at all, but he knew that was clearly body language for pissed off.

Roxas sighed, torn between just leaving and apologizing. He stood there a few moments before calling across the large room, "M'Roxas, I'll see you 'round." He didn't bother waiting for a reply, she had made it clear she didn't care to give him one, but he at least felt better knowing he had returned a common courtesy of presenting his name to her.

He honestly just hoped that'd be the first and last time he was attacked in a laundry mat. Within a few minutes he was standing in the lobby of the apartment, balancing the basket against the wall as he spun the combo for his P.O. box. He slid the stack of envelopes out of the cubicle and into his basket, slamming it shut and locking it before heading out the building again and up the stairs along the side.

He didn't need to look down to know what he had gotten. Credit card statements, student loan statements, phone bill, car insurance; hell the only thing he wasn't getting slammed for was his apartment, which he had always prioritized since he could pay it just down the stairs.

Shuffling his feet, he slowly opened the door to his apartment, tossing the basket to the side and scooping the envelopes off the top. He walked into the kitchen/den and sat them on the arm of the single armchair he owned before falling back into it himself. He slowly lifted the stack before crinkling his nose and tossing it onto the small round table beside him.

Not today.

**I have very mixed feelings on this chapter, it was hard to write as this is a very transitional period I'm about to set up. CONSIDERING, I will be approaching this entire fic from a different angle very soon, because I figured a love story by itself is just so boring. c: So you'll see what I mean, probably, hopefully, much later on. ****  
Again, this chapter mostly focused on Roxas, and the majority of the story will. But... I think it's called third person limited, so. At least that's what I'll be aiming for. Naminé I think was handled differently for my previous chapter, and my reasoning for that is because in the light of day he can see how _young_ she really is (though they're age gap isn't that big, its still an issue of legality, at least here it is. 15 x 18 is a no). I wasn't originally going to add in Naminé again so soon, but considering that the gap between their meeting and next meet up is - in my head at least - so far away, I added this scene as a last minute ditch. I didn't want this chapter to be too dull and I wanted the next chapter to really stand alone instead of trying to add it here.  
**

**Anyway, know this wasn't muh best, but it was a tough chapter to force myself to sit down and write; luckily I've already started out the next one and its flowing a lot better. c: Please review if you'd like, and let me know if I can build onto this chapter. I feel it very lacking in.. everything xD See ya soon~**


	4. 1000 Bricks On His Shoulders

**Hey there c: AN at the bottom. Enjoy~  
**

Weeks passed, and the more Roxas avoided it, the more he realized that he had a serious issue. He sat at the small round table that served as a dining area in his apartment as he stared hard at the piles of papers and envelopes he had tossed around. What the hell was he supposed to do?

He tried to calm down his thoughts, beginning to sort the piles between things he _knew_ he could pay, things he couldn't pay now and finally things he just figured he could put off a bit longer. But the more organized he tried to get over it, and the more times he tried to cycle out his paycheck evenly to each thing, he realized he'd have to take a very different route to this.

Sighing, he cast a glance at the clock on the far wall, making sure he had enough time to get down to the university. Halfheartedly, he stood and hesitated before walking to his bedroom to put on clothes. He skipped his classes that morning, not having the work done, again, embarrassed him enough to where he didn't want to have to face the scrutiny of the professors when he didn't hand in a paper or partake in a discussion.

Why even go at this point, he thought? What was the point in wasting money on classes when he wasn't taking them seriously anyway? He had only gone to school in the first place to prove his mother wrong; and so far that wasn't really looking up in his favor. He grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter before exiting the apartment and headed towards the university to drop his classes.

* * *

Roxas yawned as he walked into work, walking past the dinner hostess with little more than a wave. He didn't even care enough to see who it was. His decision was weighing heavy on his chest, and even though he felt he had made the right one, part of him was saying otherwise.

Shuffling to the back of the restaurant, he clocked in and tossed his jacket into the back office on the rack with all the others. He was glad for the rain today; it was fitting to his mood and also was a nice cool off from the summer heat. However rain was not good for business, and that meant the night would go by painstakingly slow. Hopefully the few people that did trickle in would feel generous when tipping.

With a slight jump in his step at that thought, he made his way back to the front of the restaurant, leaning over the girl at the hostess stand to see what section he had for the night. He placed a hand on her shoulder to keep himself balanced and then grinned. He had the other half of the smoking section with Tifa.

"Get off," The hostess shrugged his hand off her shoulder, turning around to face him with a frown. "You didn't even say hello when you came in."

"I was wet," He offered with a small smile, holding up his hands in mock defeat. He let his hands fall to his side before he reached up and smacked the bun on her head with a grin, "What the hell is that?"

"I can't deal with you being up here all night," She huffed, swatting his hand away before crossing her arms. He smirked, poking her side causing her to slap and grab his wrist, "Roxas!"

He gently pried his arm out of her grip before chuckling and backing away. She rolled her eyes, blowing a stray strand of her auburn hair out of her face before turning back around to the door as a couple walked in. Shaking his head, he crossed the short distance from the entrance to the bar, leaning against the counter as he looked up at the televisions. It was always too loud to hear what was going on, but the channels were tuned to the sports network and to the news.

His eyes narrowed as he tried to better his vision to read the small headlines scrolling at the bottom of the screen. Instead he was smacked in the forehead with one of the menus, causing him to let out a cry of protest as he covered his face with his hands.

"I saw what you were doing," her light voice scolded him, "Give this back to her and don't harass her this time."

Roxas looked through his fingers at the bartender, scowling at her as he snatched the menu from her outstretched hand. He turned and walked back to the hostess stand, poking the girl's side to move her out of the way so he could slide the menu back into its cubby.

"Roxas, I swear to—" He didn't even let her finish before turning and walking back to the bar to lean over the counter again.

He glared at Tifa as she smiled at him from the other side of the counter, a glass in her hand that she was busy "cleaning". Really she was just running the cloth around the rim because she had absolutely nothing else to do. "You really shouldn't pick at her, ya know. Goin' to give that poor girl the wrong impression."

Roxas scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked over his shoulder at the redhead, "Who, Kairi?" Tifa nodded and he shook his head in response, "I don't think so." He simply replied, shrugging. And he knew for a fact that his constant teasing wasn't an issue. She had been here for almost a month now and hadn't suspected anything from him. At least from what he could tell.

Tifa shrugged, replacing the glass in her hand with another one. She turned her attentions to the three televisions above her, arching a brow as she watched the one with the news. Shaking her head, she looked over her shoulder at Roxas. "I can't believe that's really starting to be an issue…" She muttered. Roxas mimicked her facial expression, looking up at the television with a confused look.

"Issue of what?"

Tifa chuckled softly, turning to face him. "Can you really not see the screen, Roxas?" Her eyes showed slight concern, though it was mostly masked by her amusement. "Have you thought about glasses?"

He blushed; leaning away and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Ain't got the money, right now." She nodded, giving him a look of pity before turning away from him again. "Do you know any place that's hiring?"

She gave him her full attention again, her brows knit together in confusion, "Thinking of leaving me, Roxas?" She teased slightly, though the frown she wore was genuine. "What's wrong?"

He couldn't help but to smile at her in return, "I just… I need another job," He admitted, placing his arms on the counter to wring them in front of him. He noted her expression and continued, "In addition to this one, not just, this one, you know?"

"You don't have the time to work two jobs, Roxas." She chastised him, shaking her head and folding her arms, "How's school? Axel said you were having a hard time. I can help you study, if you need it."

Roxas winced at the subject, quickly putting on a grin and putting his hands up in defense, "That's what I need, the _bartender_ teaching me fractals." She narrowed her eyes at his teasing, picking up a straw from the holder she had on the other side of the counter and throwing it at him. The projectile fell short, landing on the counter.

"I worry about you, Roxas." There it was again. One thing that always unnerved him about talking to Tifa was her way to worm into anything. All she had to do was say his name enough and he let his guard down. She was staring at him, a weird look upon her face as he tried to keep eye contact. "And for your information, I _can _compute partial fraction integrals."

"What does that even mean…" Tifa chuckled at his response, shaking her head once more and turning away to walk back to the kitchen.

He felt a jab in his side, causing him to squirm and shove his body against the stools against the bar, nearly causing a domino effect. He gripped the counter, turning to see Kairi motioning towards a booth with her thumb. "It means you have a table." He groaned tossing his head back in a childish manner before gently shoving Kairi out of the way, however before he could move past her she grabbed his sleeve jerking him to a stop, "Do you know her? She asked for your section."

Roxas narrowed his eyes in confusion as he stared at Kairi for a few moments before leaning around her to look at the booth near the entrance. He resisted the urge to face palm as he took note of the girl sitting there. It was Naminé. Instead he gently brought his hand to rest on his forehead as he straightened, "I can't deal with this tonight."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Kairi teased, leaning close. He promptly put a hand over her face, pushing her away from him. She squealed as she grabbed his arm, removing his hand and glaring at him. "What was that for!?" Roxas pulled out of her hold, choosing to ignore Kairi as he walked over to the table with a frown.

She had been staring intently at the menu for a while now, and he hoped she was oblivious to the commotion the redhead was attempting to cause on the other side of the bar. He leaned up against the wooden cabinet that separated the booth from the hostess stand, staring down at her. What the hell was she doing here?

He knew however, he couldn't be rude, not here. With his luck he'd choose to approach the conversation casually and she'd complain to Joshua about his "attitude" towards her. So instead he went with the mantra.

"Hey how's it goin', I'm Roxas, I'll be your server, and can I start you off with something to drink?" He said it in one breath, not wanting to toy around. The faster he got her order, the sooner she'd eat and the sooner she'd leave.

She looked up at him over the menu with an arched brow, slowly letting the menu lie against the tabletop. She clasped her hands together, and leaned back in the booth before blowing out a bit of air. "Water."

She opened her mouth to speak again, but he didn't give her time to say anything else before darting back towards the drink machine and the kitchen. Sighing as he reached the back, he grabbed a glass from the rack and stuck it under the drink machine, slowly letting the machine crank out ice and then finally water. He let up on the tab a bit, casting a few glances over his shoulder until he spotted Tifa at the window of the kitchen. She was busy chatting it up with Zack, one of the cooks, and he waved at her trying to get her attention.

Tifa held up a finger to Zack before walking over to him with a smile, "What's up, friend? Someone at the bar?" He shook his head, and she spoke before he could tell her, "Then what is it?"

"I have a problem."

"Oh?"

"Yes "oh"," he frowned, craning his neck towards the other side of the restaurant, "There's this gir-"

She held up a hand, smirking and turning away from him briefly before just walking back to the window. She cast him one last glance, "You're a big boy, Roxas," and then turned her attention fully back to Zack.

Roxas huffed, walking out from behind the drink area to shuffle back across the restaurant with the drink. When he reached the booth, he noticed she had switched sides and was now facing the bar and the rest of the smoking section. Hesitating, he slowly walked over and sat her drink down.

"Know what you want ma'am?" He said with as much pep as he could, shooting her a smile as he stood opposite of her.

She snorted, quickly covering it up with a giggle. "No, this is fine," She returned the gesture before picking up the glass and sipping it. "Ma'am…" She muttered, "Where are you even from?" Arching a brow, he slowly lowered the writing pad in his hands and just stared at her. "What? Oh. I'm not hungry."

_Then what the hell are you doing at a restaurant in the rain? _He shook his head before moving to walk past her and beeline for the back again. She grabbed the apron around his waist, causing him to freeze up and look down at her only for her hand to quickly retreat.

"It's not like you have another table, so let's talk?" Roxas let out a low puff of air as his eyes darted around. He needed out of this. But neither Kairi nor Tifa were up here for him to remotely even pretend they needed him. Sighing, he backtracked a bit and sat on the edge of the booth across from her.

He squirmed in his seat slightly as she looked him over, a smile slowly forming on her face. "You're really weird," he finally said, breaking the silence of her scrutiny.

She didn't reply to his comment, shrugging it off and instead leaning forward, "What do you do besides your laundry once a month and working here?"

"Uh…why?" Maybe weird wasn't a strong enough word here.

"You look stressed."

"That's because I am stressed."

"Yeah, but why?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, not really liking the twenty questions game she was so intent on playing. She just continued to stare and smile at him, waiting for an answer. "How old are you?"

"I'm old enough," Her tone was no longer playful like before, and it seemed he had hit a sore spot. "How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen. Now what's with the third degree?" If he was going to get slammed with questions, he was going to at least know the damn reason why. "And answer me this time, or I'm done."

"Oof," She muttered, placing her hands on the table before turning them palms up. He arched a brow at the "X" stamped on her wrist, looking over at her with confusion. "I need you to help me do something."

"I don't go clubbin'." He stated simply, shaking his head and moving to get up again.

"No look, you don't even have to stay. Just, get me in, and I'll be fine from there." She reached across the table and grabbed his shirt, "Please, I need to get in."

Roxas shrugged her off, shooting her a glare, "I don't even know you, what the hell is your problem?" He stood finally, standing over her as he tried not to raise his voice and draw attention to them. "Are you insane?" His whispered harshly, gesturing to himself, "What did I ever do to you? Okay, why me?"

She shook her head, and clasped her hands in front of her, "Please, just do this one thing and I _swear_ I'll leave you alone after this, okay? I _swear_. "She stuck out her pinkie, only to receive an incredulous look from Roxas. "Come on, pinky swear."

He stared at her for a few moments before groaning and locking his finger with hers, causing her to grind madly as she slid out of the booth. She grabbed her purse, taking out a few dollars and tossing them on the table before making to leave. She stopped before she reached the door, turning to look at him like she had the night they met, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist. Meet me here Friday night, okay? Don't be working!"

And with that she was gone. Roxas slid back into the booth, letting his head rest in his hands. He had no idea what the fuck he was agreeing to. There was something seriously wrong with that girl. He let out another sigh as he stood, gathering up the menu, barely touched glass, and the five dollars she had left him. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

**My chapters always look so pitiful once I post them into the document manager :c lol. Anyway, Namine's back. And she's obviously insane 8D If you read my previous note, I said that Namine was thrown into the last chapter as a spur of the moment decision, and that was because when writing this and planning it, it felt weird for her to pop up again out of no where. At least here he's talked to her more than once. c: **

**Anyway, Nami is turning out to be quite different from how I originally crafted her character to be, though, what's sad is not really. I knew I wanted her to behave this way. But we'll just see. c:  
**

**Thank you for reading, faving, and reviewing. Also if you're a new reader, please review if you'd like c: They're amazing fodder for my brain.  
**


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